Method of conveying cigarettes through cigarette-packing machines



Dec. V18, 1934. v, D POPOV '1,984,808

METHOD OF CONVEYING CIGARETTES THROUGH CIGARETTE PACKING MACHINES Filed Jan. 2o, 193s A Ummm WUI' nimh., Hm

E F fil IHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMI Vwo/MIR Dn/rziffv/b Pawv INVENTOR Patented Dec. 18, 1934 PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF CONVEYING CIGARETTES THROUGHl CIGARETTE PACKING MA- vCHINES Vladimir Dmitrijevic Popov, Prague-Bubenec,

Czechoslovakia Application January zo, 1933, serial No. 652,649 In Czechoslovakia June 13, r1932 This invention relates to a method for `use in conjunction with cigarette-packing machines for conveying' the' cigarettes from the hopper or storage chamber of the machine to the stack- `r ways or feed passages, and thence into thev boxes. The hitherto known methods of conveying and conducting cigarettes from the supply container to the `packing mechanism proper of a packing machine-require various types of shaking Vmechanism adapted to maintain and assist the mobility of the cigarettes and to facilitatel the gradualfeed movement ofthe same from the storage chamber tothestack-ways or feed passages leading to the boxes to be iilled. The means employed for this purpose consist, depending on the system under consideration, of movable walls for the passages proper, or os-` cillatory or rocking elements upon which the cigarettes are caused `to travel towards the feed passages, or milled rollers which rotate constantly in one direction, and which are adapted to impart movement to the cigarettes by virtue of their milled or iinely .grooved surfaces. It has also been proposed to employ rocking walls and milled` rollers in Various combinations. The most serious objections to all such arrangements yare the frequentdeformationlof the cigarettes and the shaking out of the-tobaccocaused thereby, it not having been possiblehitherto to eliminate these drawbacks. 1

The method according to the present inven# tion ventirely .avoids any shaking of the 'oiga` rettes, and thus precludes the possibility oi the deformation of the cigarettes and effectually prevents theshaking voutof the tobacco.

With the method *according Vto the presentv invention, the cigarettes pass out of f themain storage chamber into a lower chamber through apertures'formed between plain; smooth rollers adapted to be rotated periodically through a certain angle alternately in both directions.

From the lower chamber, the cigarettes pass in the same manner into a bottom chamber, and from the latter into the feed passages. The oscillating movement of the smoothrollers prevents arches of cigarettes forming over the individual apertures to be traversed by the cigarettes. Such arches would check the free passage of the cigarettes from one chamber to the'other 50 and into the feed passages. In the final cham` ber above the feed passages, in accordance with the present invention, the cigarettes are given the greatest freedom of movement, that is to say they may be displaced most readily so as to nd their way in running succession into the feed passages. At the same time the oiga-.- rettes are effectually prevented from becoming compressed at this stage, or from becoming jammed and blocking the feed passages.

A form of construction of a device for the carrying out of the method according to theinvention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, in ,Whichz- Fig. 1 shows the device in longitudinalsection.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation in part section of the lower portion of the device shown in Fig. 1 with a box positioned in readiness to receive a charge of cigarettes from the feed passages.

In Fig.k lof thedrawings A denotes the main storage chamber or hopper, which may be of any desired dimensions. YThe Afloor is Vformed of smooth rollers 2a, 2b, 2e between which there are gaps or apertures 3a and 3b. The smooth rollers.2i,n2b,` 2c are rotated periodically through a certain angle in bothdirections, their drive being taken from a shaft 4 which is driven, through' the intermediary of a belt 5 and of abelt pulley 6, from a motor or from. any suitable part of the packing machine. To the shaft 4 there is keyed a crank arm 7 which operates by means of the connecting rod 8 the crank arm 9 attached to the pin 10a on the smooth roller 2a. The' toothed wheel 11a, which is attached to the p n 10a., meshes with the toothed `wheel 11b on the pin 10b of the shaft 2i), whence the movement is likewise transmitted `to the toothed Wheelgllc on the pin 10c. There is further at,- tached Vto the pin 10a a toothed wheel 12 which engages the wheel 13a; by this latter wheel the movement is transmitted to the toothed wheel 13b which, in its turn, meshes with the wheel 13C. The crank arm 7 imparts to the roller 2a a periodic movement in alternate directions, and this movement is transmitted by the described arrangement of wheels to all the remaining rollers in both rows.

The cigarettes placed in bulk in the chamber A bear at the bottom thereof against the smooth rollers 2a, 2b, 2c, but are prevented by the periodically alternating rotary `movements of these rollers from forming arches over the gaps 3a. and 3b, and pass through these latter into the chamber B. The bottom of the chamber B'is formed by the smooth rollers 14a, 14h, 14o which are caused to movein precisely the same manner as the rollers 2a, 2b, 2c. Between the rollers 14a, 14h, 14o there are left openings 15a, 15b which are narrower than the openings 3a,

A3b. Through the openings 15a, 15b the cigarettes pass one by one into the chamber C. The abovedescribed arrangement and construction of the parts of the device ensure that the pressure of the quantity of cigarettes piled up in the chamber A is brought to bear only to quite a slight extent on the cigarettes in the chamber B, and practically not at all on the cigarettes in the chamber C. The cigarettes in the chamber C are thus not pressed together or compressed at all, and are therefore also very mobile. The top of the chamber C is formed of the oscillating smooth rollers 14a, 14D, lllc which not only prevent the jamming of the cigarettes above the passages D1, D2, etc., but actually force or coax the cigarettes into the individual stack-ways or feed passages D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5. Nevertheless it is conceivable that with the arrangement as described the cigarettes in the chamber C could assume such positions that the opening into one or more of the feed passages becomes blocked (compare the position of the cigarettes 18 and 19 above the passage D4). These two cigarettes 18 and 19 are resting on the walls of the passage D4 out of reach of the roller 14a, and can thus remain stationary in this position, irrespective of the movement of this roller. As long as these cigarettes remain in this position the passage D4 is blocked and cut off from the cigarette stream. In order to prevent the cigarettes from assuming such positions except for a very short time the cigarettes are caused to pass from the chamber B into the chamber C not only through the upper openings or gaps 15a, 15b, but also from the side through the channels 16a, 1Gb, in the direction of the arrows e and y (Fig. 1). The cigarettes coming in from the side exert lateral forces which tend to move any cigarettes bearing against the Walls of the feed passages either to one side or to the other, Wherever there is more free space. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the lateral force exerted in the direction of the arrow f disturbs the state of rest of the cigarettes 18 and 19 above the passage D4 by causing the same to be more or less displaced by the cigarettes above the passage D5. In this manner the stationary cigarettes are brought out of their state oi equilibrium, are moved to the left and drop into the passage D4 which then continues to be lled with cigarettes in the normal manner after a very short interruption.

From the above description it will be clear that the main flow of the cigarettes from the chamber B into the chamber C is vertical through the openings 15a and 15b, while the passage of the cigarettes through the channels 16a and 1Gb in the direction of the arrows c and f is of but slight extent, and is only necessary to eiectually counteract any tendency for the cigarettes to become stationary on top of the Walls or partitions between the feed passages, and thus to ensure the correct and suitable functioning of the device.

In order to ensure that the cigarettes from the chamber C shall ll the passages D1, D2, etc., the height of the chamber C must be kept low and should ideally be such that the cigarettes which touch the oscillating rollers 14a, 14h, 14e at the top are caused to move to the right or to the left solely by virtue of friction against these rollers, and then drop into the passages by virtue of their inherent Weight. If the height of the chamber C be increased beyond the correct amount the reliability of the feed movement of the cigarettes into the stack-ways Di-Ds is reduced, and wrong dimensioning is capable of robbing the chambers C entirely of their efficacy for the intended purpose.

An important condition for the required m0- bility of the cigarettes in the chamber C is the manner in which this chamber C is filled with cigarettes through the openings 15a, 15b, and channels 16a., 16b. i

The breadth of the openings 15a., 15b, and of the channels 16a, 16h must be such that the cigarettes pass therethrough into the chamber C one at a time, it being thus ensured that almost every cigarette which passes into the chamber C comes into contact with the smooth surface of the oscillating. rollers, and that the direction of the subsequent movement of the cigarettes is determined by their inherent weight.

From the passages Di, D2, etc., the cigarettes can be ejected in groups, for instance of five, by' the ejector E into the boxes F (Figs.-l and 2). The cigarettes thus removed from the passages are at once replaced by fresh cigarettes coming in from the chamber C. It is to be understood. that the cigarettes can be transferred from the passages D into the boxes F in a different manner, in a diierent number, and in a diierent arrangement from that shown in the drawings..

I claim:

1. In a cigarette packing machine, a storage container for cigarettes, a plurality of vertical feed passages below said container, a row of rollers between said storage container and said passages and spaced from one another and from the entrance openings of said passages a dis tance slightly greater than the diameter of a cigarette, means for conveying cigarettes from the storage container to said rollers, and meansfor rotating said rollers back and forth.

2. A cigarette packing machine according to claim 1, characterized by stationary walls partly surrounding each end roller and forming channels the height of which is slightly greater than thediameter of a cigarette and opening at one end into the space between the storage container and the rollers and at the other end into the space between the rollers and the passages at substantially a right angle to said passages.

3. A cigarette packing machine according to claim 1, characterized by a row of rollers be tween the storage container and said first mentioned rollers and which are spaced from one another and from the first mentioned rollers a distance greater than two cigarettes, and means for rotating back and forth said last mentioned rollers.

VLADIMIR DMITRIJEVI POPOV. 

